National Senior Investor Initiative Act of 2023

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I do have a question for the chairwoman of our subcommittee. We are taking these bills in a different order than I was told. We are now dealing with H.R. 2593. Will we then return to H.R. 2608 and H.R. 2610?
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Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, the one person that may be most surprised by us going out of order is the author of this bill, Mr. Gottheimer. I know he is on his way now to this floor, so in order for him to get here before he would have expected to be needed, I will speak very slowly.

Mr. Speaker, I rise slowly in support of H.R. 2593, the Senior Security Act sponsored by the gentleman from New Jersey, who is on his way to this floor right now.

Scams targeting seniors, which can include harassing robocalls and phone calls impersonating the government, cost older Americans more than $36 billion a year, according to the National Council on Aging. According to AARP, these kinds of senior scams have more than doubled just since 2020.

Financial scams can leave a devastating and lasting impact on our seniors, causing significant financial loss. Recovering lost funds is a very challenging process, and in many cases, the money is simply not retrieved.

Scams also lead to significant emotional distress, resulting in feelings of embarrassment, guilt, shame, and a diminished sense of self-worth. The emotional impact can exacerbate health conditions or lead to depression and anxiety. Once scammed, seniors might lose trust in people, which can lead to further isolation and reluctance to seek help.

Mr. Gottheimer's bill takes key steps to help protect older Americans nationwide from getting scammed out of their hard-earned money by establishing a senior investor task force within the SEC. This task force must report on topics relating to investors over the age of 65 and make recommendations for actions to address problems encountered by senior investors.

I will also point out that this is important for our capital markets and for companies trying to raise money because every time a senior is subject to one of these scams, others become less interested in investing, and we need Americans to feel that they are protected and not cheated when they invest in stocks, bonds, and our capital markets.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I am pleased that the gentleman from New Jersey has arrived, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill passed in committee 49-0. Our seniors are particularly vulnerable to financial scams. As Members of Congress, we must work to find effective ways to protect seniors from scamsters and fraudsters.

Mr. Gottheimer's bill, a bill I commend him for drafting and one that, once again, got 49 votes to 0 in our committee--I commend him for crafting this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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